Summer #4 CSA Newsletter June 21-27, 2026

2 days ago
8 min read

Tansy's litter of nine Border Aussie puppies were born on Summer Solstice so it's been an exciting week.

This week's share

.

VEG SHARES - Weekly + "B" week for EOW

Info for the vegetables in the Default Share and available for the Design Share:

ASPARAGUS (1 lb) - Can be eaten raw or cooked many ways—roasted, grilled, steamed, boiled, pan-roasted, fried and can be added to pasta, salads, soups, and stir-fries.Steam with butter or hollandaise sauce, blanch and chill with a vinaigrette, herbs, or other dressing. Generally speaking, thicker spears are better for roasting, grilling, and stir-frying, and thinner stalks are traditionally left whole so their tender, meaty texture can be appreciated. Trim before cooking by holding the ends and bending the spear until it breaks somewhere in the middle; everything from the middle up will be tender enough to eat easily. Store in the fridge either in a vase of water (cut a sliver off the stalk ends first if they are dried) or store them in a loosely wrapped plastic bag in the crisper drawer. Just remember that the sooner you eat it, the better the flavor. Asparagus can also be blanched and then frozen although it will be more mushy when thawed - perfect for soup! Pickling is another option.

LETTUCE MIX (5 oz) - Store in a plastic bag in your fridge. Often considered a “1st Priority Vegetable” with a shorter shelf life than the other vegetables in your share, however if you put a paper or cloth towel in the bag to absorb moisture, our freshly harvested lettuce will often lasts more than a week! Guide & Recipes

ARUGULA/TATSOI MIX (3 oz) - Peppery salad greens. Tip: If you don’t like the spiciness, using dressing with dairy and/or adding cheese will lessen the heat. Arugula is more perishable than lettuce and often only lasts about 4 or 5 days so this should be one of the first items eaten from your share. That said, adding a paper or cloth towel to the bag to absorb moisture will extend the time it lasts by several days! Store in the fridge. Arugula Guide & Recipes

SUNFLOWER SHOOTS (3 oz.) - Sunflower Shoots, also called sunflower greens or microgreens, have a nutty flavor with a crunchy texture. They are versatile and can be used like fresh salad greens, stir fried or steamed lightly, used in sandwiches, with pasta, or on pizza. Store in a plastic bag or wrapped in a slightly damp towel for about a week or maybe a little more. Guide & Recipes

RED RUSSIAN KALE (1 bunch) - Sweet, tender and mild, Red Russian kale is often liked by those that are averse to the more traditional curly kale varieties. The stem is edible but most discard it as it doesn’t soften much with cooking. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge. This crop technically falls into the category of “1st Priority veggies” to be used in the next week or so. If you can’t use it up by your next share, some good exit strategies are to put it in smoothies, make pesto, or make green cubes! Guide & Recipes

Lacinto KALE (1 bunch) - (Also known as Dinosaur or Toscano.) This kale has an earthy, nutty flavor. It doesn't have the same strong bitterness as other varieties of kale, though it is still there. The sweetness helps offset that and makes it more approachable.This green can be used just like any other kale. Every part of the leaf is edible, though really thick ribs take longer to cook, so they're often discarded. The kale can be cooked whole, cut into thin strips, or chopped, depending on your recipe and use. Store in a plastic bag (a Debbie Meyer Green bag if you have one) keep it in the fridge. Use within a week. This crop technically falls into the category of “1st Priority veggies” to be used in the next week. If you can’t use it in the next few days, consider freezing it. Guide & Recipes

Chinese CABBAGE (also called Napa Cabbage) - From the Brassica family like other cabbages, napa cabbage is versatile with a delicate flavor and can be eaten raw in salads and slaws, as well as, boiled, stir fried, grilled, pickled, and steamed. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a week or a little longer. Guide & Recipes

CARROTS (1 bunch) - Store the roots dry and unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Guide & Recipes

RADISHES with greens (1 bunch) - Separate radish from leaves for storing! Keep the greens in a loosely wrapped plastic bag in the crisper bin of your refrigerator and eat them soon. Store the colorful roots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a week or so. Eat them raw with a sprinkle of salt, slice into salads or on sandwiches for added crunch, pickle or roast with carrots. Guide & Recipes

SALAD (Hakurei) TURNIPS (1 bunch) - These popular white golf-ball or smaller size roots are juicy, sweet and less starchy than an average turnip, with a texture that deserves to be eaten raw or barely cooked. Hakurei turnips have the tender, almost creamy texture of a spring radish, but without the sharp heat of a radish, their more mellow turnip flavor shines through.They are crisp and tender. Use them in salads, sandwiches, stir frys, sautes, scrambled eggs or sauces. Remove the edible tops (use in salads or lightly sauteed) and store them separately in a plastic bag in the fridge (or the root will get soft). Best used within 3-4 weeks but will keep a long time! Guide & Recipes

SORREL (1 bunch) - Kind of a salad green & kind of a herb and in the same family as rhubarb, sorrel’s astringent citrusy flavor adds a little kick to your meal. And its rich in potassium, vitamins Q, B1, and C. A rule of thumb for using - anywhere you’d add a squeeze or two of lemon, sorrel would be good! When heat is added, sorrel breaks down nicely making it a great thickener for sauces and soups. It’s strong flavor pairs well with fatty meats & fish like salmon, creamy dishes, and cheeses. Great cut into thin strips and mixed with other salad greens to eat fresh. Other ideas include using it in soups, sauces, pesto, salads & dressings, potato toppings, hummus, quiches, omelets, crepe fillings, pizza, pasta dishes. 7 More Recipe Ideas Sorrel will last 1-2 weeks in a plastic bag in your fridge. If you wish to rinse or wash, wait until just before using to prolong shelf life.

YELLOW ONIONS (1 lb) - Store on your counter or in your pantry out of direct sunlight. Onion peels can be put into a freezer bag with other vegetable scraps to make soup stock later, as they are full of antioxidants. To freeze: Cut or slice onions to desired size and place in Ziplock bag. Remove all the air and seal. It helps to freeze them in 2-3 cup increments. These are a good all-around onion, great for cooking and flavoring dishes. By far, they're the most popular onion sold in America and versatile enough for just about anything. Yellow onions are a smart choice for caramelizing, which draws out their natural sweetness. (from our farm & Gwenyn Hill Farm)

GARLIC SCAPES - (1 bunch) These are the curlicue curiosities in your box. Store them in a plastic bag in your crisper. They’ll last about 2-3 weeks. You can trim off the bottom inch of the scape (if it’s woody) as well as the flowering tip (although that is also edible if you want to try it). Steam, saute, or grill them whole or chopped in pieces, similar to green beans, with some olive oil and salt/pepper. Or finely chop as a garlic substitute. Can also be sliced and included in fresh dishes - like you’d use green onions. Can also pickle or chop and freeze them in a Mason jar or Ziplock bag. Then you can use them all summer/winter as needed.

GARLIC CHIVES (1 bunch) - Garlic chives look similar to chives, but their leaves are broad and flat instead of hollow. Their garlicky flavor enhances cooked dishes, particularly ones where the food is slowly simmered in a sauce, such as red-cooked stews or soups, or in stuffing. Use them also to add flavor to stir-fries. They go particularly well with eggs and seafood—you’ll often find them paired with scrambled eggs or prawns.

BABY GINGER (¼ lb) - Baby ginger is much milder than mature ginger. Ways to use it: Grate it into stir-fries and soups for a mild, warming spice, blend it into smoothies or homemade popsicles, make a soothing, sweet-spiced tea, perfect for cozy evenings, simmer with sugar to make a ginger syrup, make a zesty salad dressing with minced baby ginger, olive oil, vinegar, and honey, or add it to muffin or cookie batter for a subtle warmth and aroma in your baked goods. Storage: Baby ginger will keep a couple weeks in the fridge. If you won't use it by then, put it in the freezer and just grate some off when you need it. It'll keep many months there. from Farm on Central and not certified organic BUT grown organically without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.

RHUBARB - (1 lb) - These tart green & magenta stalks this hardy perennial vegetable is generally thought of as a fruits. It’s mouth puckering goodness is often sweetened with a little sugar or honey and is used in dishes like crisps, compotes, and pies (from which it gets its second name, "pie plant"). Rhubarb also lends a fruitiness to savory dishes and pairs very nicely with pork and poultry. To use: wash and trim off any dry ends. Some peel the skin but there’s no need to do this and besides it holds lots of color and flavor. Store in loose plastic in the crisper drawer of the fridge, where it will keep for about a week or a little more. To freeze, cut the rhubarb stalks into 1-inch chunks and seal in an airtight bag and it will keep for up to a year.

ALL PURPOSE BOLTED FLOUR - Best applications include but are not limited to cakes, crackers, pizza dough, and breads.PROTEIN CONTENT= 10.5%. (from Meadowlark Organics)

WHITE CHEDDAR CHEESE (8 oz) - Semi-hard Cheddar that carries a tanginess along with smooth, consistent flavor. Great table cheese used for grating or grilling. Pairs well with: Champagne or Chardonnay *NOT organic. (from Meister Cheese)

MES SHARES - Round 1, 4th week

EGG SHARES - all Weekly & Biweekly "B"

Recipes:

On the Farm . . .

The rye that Marlee and Smudge were in last week has been mowed so we can plant our winter squash crop into it.

The rye smothers weeds and contributes to the organic matter of the field.

Baby meat chicks under a red heat lamp. The red color is easier on the chicks eyes. This batch will be big enough to be moved outside to the pasture.

Looks like we'll probably have summer squashes in shares next week.

So get your summer squash and zucchini recipes ready!!!!

Red Russian kale bed looking lush and gorgeous. We take that as a sign it's happy growing in our farm's organic living soil.

Pole beans are grabbing on to grow up the trellis netting.

Like I said Tansy has nine puppies. The whelping pen is in our bedroom away from the other dogs and all the commotion that happens everyday in our kitchen.

I'm loving waking up in the middle of the night to the noises of the pups nursing and Tansy mothering them.

People who secured puppies earlier this spring are in the process of selecting their puppies and then we'll get to work connecting with others looking for a pup.